MW Recession? Most CEOs think U.S. is already in one, says BlackRock's Larry Fink

By William Watts

Stocks could drop another 20%, with U.S. now seen as a 'destabilizing' force by investors

'Most CEOs I talk to would say we are probably in a recession right now.'Larry Fink, BlackRock chief executive officer

That's BlackRock Inc. $(BLK)$ CEO Larry Fink, in an onstage interview at the Economic Club of New York on Monday, where he warned that stocks were likely to see further downside in reaction to President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff policies.

Stocks were flipping between gains and losses in violently choppy trade Monday, after major indexes ended last week with their biggest two-day plunge since March 2020, when equities collapsed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The S&P 500 SPX fell a cumulative 10.5% on Thursday and Friday, after President Donald Trump revealed sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners.

Stocks and other assets viewed as risky have sold off sharply on fears of an escalating global trade war and the threat of a major economic slowdown or recession.

Fink also said he was concerned inflation would rise if all of Trump's tariffs are implemented. "At the same time, if the president is successful in changing the behaviors of other countries by bringing down the tariffs, the end result can be lower tariffs," he said.

Fink said he was troubled to see the U.S. no longer serving as a "stabilizer," and that financial markets were now grappling with a change in view to see the country as a "destabilizing" force.

Fink was the latest in a line of Wall Street heavyweights to express unease over the tariff policy. Hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman on Sunday urged Trump to pursue a 90-day pause, warning that a global trade war threatened to result in an "economic nuclear winter."

In his annual letter to shareholders on Monday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. $(JPM)$ CEO Jamie Dimon did not mention Trump by name, but he warned about the threat of isolation posed by tariffs. In a post on X, legendary investor Stanley Druckenmiller said he doesn't support tariffs of more than 10%.

Trump and administration officials have given no indication they're rethinking the tariffs and have played down threats to economic growth. Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed worries that administration policies would lead the U.S. into a recession. "There doesn't have to be a recession," he told NBC News host Kristen Welker. "Who knows how the market is going to react in a day, in a week...We're going to hold the course."

Fink said the market selloff could have substantially further to run in the short term, but would ultimately offer a buying opportunity.

"In the long run I would say this is more of a buying opportunity than it is a selling opportunity. That doesn't mean we can't fall another 20% from here, too," he said. "But I do believe over the long run the vitality of the United States will persist."

-William Watts

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April 07, 2025 15:16 ET (19:16 GMT)

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